Click 3X, MTV’s longtime post-production studio for its annual VMA campaign, has stepped up to handle all concepting, design, VFX, and editorial work on this year’s effort. Click 3X CD Mark Szumski led the studio’s work on a five-spot series that features P!nk, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and One Direction.

Giving a peak into big-name artists’ minds, each spot features symbols of various aspects of their personalities swirling around them as they speak. As P!nk talks about the anticipation of being onstage at the VMAs, for example, a roaring tiger, sensual lips, and a fierce dragon flit past amid a spectrum of colored shapes as her newest track swells in the background.

“MTV asked the artists to collaborate on the promos specifically in the selection of the imagery,” explained Szumski. “Once the artists narrowed down what they liked it was up to Click 3X to then create original content for the holographic mandalas around their heads.”

To achieve this vibrant merger of live action and graphics, Szumski teamed up with MTV Director Micah Perta and Sr. Design Director Thomas Berger to board out the promo prior to the shoot. Click 3X Art Director Miguel Hernandez and Editor Jeremy Baumann oversaw design and edit. Upon completion of the edit, the team handled animation and compositing in After Effects and Flame to achieve the proper style and aesthetic.

“We are proud of our relationship with the MTV VMAs, and we’re excited to work on the project again this year,” noted Szumski, whose latest music credits include VFX on EL-P’s Drone promo and Solange Knowles’ “I Decided.” “It’s a real honor to work with such big-name artists to promote one of the pre-eminent events on the annual television calendar.”

The 2012 campaign follows previous efforts for the VMAs, including a 2009 reprise of West Side Story. This year’s VMAs, hosted by Kevin Hart, are Sept. 6 at 8 p.m.